Along with giving out and collecting red packets (for good luck), gorging on sweets such as Nian Gao, snacks and cookies during visiting is a huge part of the annual Chinese New Year celebration.

What's the snack you're most looking forward to this festive season?

? Nut Cookies

Chinese Peanut Cookie

This is 1 of the most popular Chinese New Year recipes on Greedygirlgourmet- and really popular in real life too! Last year, someone ordered over 20 jars of these traditional peanut cookies at a time!

It's pretty much a sift and mix recipe- no electric mixer needed! I recommend using home ground peanut for the best flavor. (Leftovers can be used for muah chee, or sprinkled on Thai dishes.)

Plus, if you skip the egg wash, they're naturally vegan!

Note: these old-school cookies don't use peanut butter in them.

Hup Toh Soh

These is a popular snack in Hong Kong, but very easy to make at home for Chinese New Year season!

Cashew Nut Cookies

For those of you with food allergies and intolerances, don't worry, you don't have to miss out. Check out these delicious gluten-free, dairy-free nut cookies from Dish by Dish.

Chocolate Black Sesame Cookies

You will need black sesame powder to make this- click through for an easy homemade recipe for sesame powder and paste. Extra black sesame seeds can be made into a warming and nutritious sesame soup or beautiful lattes.

P.S. Another popular Chinese sesame snack is Jian Dui, which is made from glutinous rice flour, and is commonly seen at Dim Sum restaurants.

Nutella Cookies

This No Mixer cookie is a fun project to make with the kids!

Zodiac Cookies

Every year, the Chinese Lunar Calendar is associated with a different animal. For example, 2023 was the year of the Rabbit, and 2024 the year of the dragon!

Chinese people like to celebrate by making food in the shape of that year's animal. It's very easy to turn regular sugar cookies into mini dragons for the new lunar year- all you need are dragon cookie cutters!

?? South East Asian

There's a huge Chinese population in many parts of South East Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Here, the Chinese people have starting using local ingredients and know-how to make their own particular Chinese recipes.

Scroll down for some of the popular Lunar New Year treats in the region!

P.S. If you're curious about the local cuisine, click here to find out more about popular Singaporean desserts!

Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple cookies come open-faced, as shown above or enclosed (with the jam hidden in the centre of a ball of buttery dough.) People get quite passionate about which version is better!

Once upon a time, I sold these, until I decided chopping the pineapples, grating them by hand and stirring for HOURS was just too much work! However, here are some of my tips from those days:

to enable this traditional cookie to last at room temperature, you need to add a lot of sugar to the pineapple jam. To make sure it's not too sweet, use unripe pineapples (and not ripe ones, which have a higher sugar content.) if you like them chewy but don't have hours to grate, you can mix blended pineapples with some grated pieces for more bite. (Some people chop them instead.)

These traditional Chinese New Year cookies are given out as symbols of Good Fortune. In Hokkien, pineapple is "Ong Lai" which is a homonym for the arrival of Prosperity.

Kuih Rose

Also known as Beehive Cookies, these delicacies use coconut milk, which is a very common ingredient in South East Asian cooking.

Light and crunchy, they're fried, not baked!

? Modern

Matcha Cookies

You can also substitute the matcha powder for Hojicha to make Hojicha Cookies.

If you enjoy matcha cookies, you'll love matcha pound cake!

Fortune Cookie

Given that fortune cookies are an American invention, they certainly weren't part of the traditional Lunar New Year celebration!

However, they're a fun addition when celebrating with friends, as you can easily make your own and include all kind of fun predictions for good fortune in the Year of the Rabbit in them!

P.S. The recipe even comes with a video to make your life easier!

Brown Sugar Cookies

These are 1 of my favorite holiday cookies as you can make so many cookies from this 1 dough:

add in milk chocolate chips substitute the brown sugar for white add some vanilla or almond extract use royal icing to write the Chinese Character for fortune (?) on them etc etc!

Bak Kwa Cookies

Most people end up with too much meat jerky after the Spring Festival, so why not chop some up and throw them into your bakes?

Note: for more leftover bak kwa recipes, click here.

Shaker Cookies

These CNY cookies with a see-through centre by Constellation Inspiration are some of the most unique ones I've seen!

They're a bit complicated as you will need isomalt to make the clear "windows" in the cookie (so that you can see the bits move when you shake the cookies!)

Five Spice Cookies

If you want something more original, try these glazed 5 spice cookies! Use homemade Chinese 5 spice powder for a more aromatic flavor.

Note: you will need a mold to get the beautiful pattern. They look perfect for Christmas too!

Red Bean Paste Cookies

This popular-in-China sweet treat is crisp and delicious. The crust is similar to the one used in easy Chinese Almond Cookies so you can save time by baking both on the same day. (It's custom to have maaaaannnny different types of traditional Chinese New Year desserts out to offer guests!)

Moreover, you can also substitute the red bean paste with other fillings such as pineapple jam, black sesame etc!